A Critical Study of the Comparison between Kami-Asagi and Tun

On the Basis of the Fieldwork on Okinawa Island

抄録

This work serves as the foundation of comprehensive studies of Kami-Asagi and Tun on Ryukyu Islands. On Okinawa Island, each village formed before modern times has at least one ritual area called Kami-Asagi or Tun. Under the present conditions, while Kami-Asagi and Tun have the same function in each community, there are striking contrasts between them. Earlier studies have not clarified sufficiently whether they are of the same origin or what the distinguishing point is between them. Though it is often said that we must understand Utaki and Kami-Asagi/Tun as the nucleus of a village in order to grasp the construction of the community on Okinawa Island, this issue has remained obscure. In this study, after visiting all the villages that have Kami-Asagi/Tun, we examined earlier studies and tried to show that Kami-Asagi and Tun have the same origin from an architectural viewpoint, and to prove that both of them need to be recognized as spatial matter that consists of a structure, such as a building or a small shrine, and an open space.